Arizona Republicans, prepare for backlash

It could go down in Arizona lore as the night the Republican Party shot itself in the tuckus.

At least, the Democrats, Libertarians and Greenies hope so. This week, theyâ€™re preparing to launch a counter offensive to thwart a late night raid by Republicans â€“ one aimed at riding off with a few congressional seats.

â€śThis,â€ť said Libertarian Barry Hess, â€śis going to be political war.â€ť

To explain, I take you to final night of the Arizona Legislature 2013. After 151 days, our leaders were finally ready to vote on a series of election reforms aimed at â€¦ well thatâ€™s the question, isnâ€™t it?

At issue were several changes sought by county election officials. Republicans insisted the bill was about adding fairness and integrity to elections. Democrats insisted it was about suppressing Latino turnout and keeping Republicans in power.

Then, in the final hours of the session, a little gem was added to House Bill 2305, one that looks to be the crown jewel in the Republican Partyâ€™s 2014 election strategy.

The new law dramatically raises the number of signatures that third-party candidates must collect to get on the ballot — by more than 4,000 percent for Libertarians seeking statewide office.

So why, you might ask, would Republicans be so anxious to keep Libertarians off the ballot? So much so that the spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee would lobby for the billâ€™s passage?

Well, letâ€™s listen in on Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, as he explained his vote that night on the House floor.

â€śI believe that, if you look at the last election, there was at least one, probably two congressional seats that may have gone in a different direction â€¦ if this requirement had been there,â€ť Mesnard said.

Busted.

Republicans â€“ still smarting from losing all three swing congressional districts last year â€“ believe that more races will fall their way once Libertarians stop soaking up votes. Their aim: seats now held by Democratic Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Ron Barber and Kyrsten Sinema.

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, the man behind the signature boost, didnâ€™t return a call to explain any other conceivable reason for this sudden urge to stick it to third-party candidates.

But Daniel Scarpinato, national press secretary for the NRCC, says the bill is about fairness. The new law requires candidates to collect signatures from a percentage of all registered voters rather than just a percentage of the partyâ€™s voters in order to stand for their partyâ€™s nomination.

Scarpinato lobbied for the billâ€™s passage as it headed toward defeat, urging state Sen. Steve Pierce to change his vote to support this and other â€śreasonable reformsâ€ť in the bill. Scarpinato says he wasnâ€™t speaking for the NRCC but as an Arizonan who believes weâ€™ll see better third-party candidates on the ballot as a result of making it harder for them to get there.

â€śI donâ€™t know that itâ€™ll have a huge impact on who wins these races,â€ť he added.

Well, someone sure thinks it would because Pierce told The Republicâ€™s Mary Jo Pitzl that Rep. Adam Kwasman was furious at his initial vote against the bill. Kwasman, R-Oro Valley, plans to challenge Kirkpatrick next year.

Last year, Republican Jonathan Paton lost to Kirkpatrick by 9,180 votes. Meanwhile the Libertarian in the race got 15,227 votes.

Sure, this bill is alllll about fairness â€¦ and plowing the field clear of potential spoilers.

Democrats believe Libertarians have increasingly siphoned Republican votes in recent years. They credit the â€śconservative protest voteâ€ť for the Libertarian as instrumental in Democrat Richard Carmonaâ€™s strong showing in last yearâ€™s U.S. Senate race.

Hess, however, says Republicans are miscalculating if they believe wiping out Libertarian candidates will lead to victory. Especially now, when people are riled.

Look for the backlash to begin on Tuesday morning as Democrats, Libertarians and others meet to organize a referendum to put HB 2305 on hold until the November 2014 election. Theyâ€™ve got the money, Hess says, and theyâ€™ve certainly got the motivation.

Thatâ€™s bad news for Republicans who already have to worry about a potential Medicaid referendum, a genius move by the partyâ€™s own right wing. If successful, 300,000 angry people could flock toÂ the polls, hoping to save their access to health care.

Add in now the chance to vote onÂ HB 2305, prompting angry Libertarians and angry Latinos to hit the polls next year when all statewide offices are up for grabs.

If youâ€™re a Republican candidate, thatâ€™s going to leave a mark.

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